World Cup Soundtracks
I have been learning French for a while now, and not too long ago, we were asked to do a presentation on a french song of our choice. The exercise took me down memory lane, back to 1998, when I first heard a french song in Anglo-Nigeria.
It was the summer of that year and the euphoria and excitement over the France 98 World Cup thickened the atmosphere, like it was, I suppose, in other participating countries. Everyone had earnest expectations of star players like Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Emmanuel Petit, Ronaldo (the 1st, haha!), Kanu Nwankwo, JayJay Okocha, Jose Chilavert, etc.
As a music enthusiast, my attention was geared towards the soundtrack of that tournament, not necessarily the game itself. My country’s team had failed me in moments of high anticipation, and this time, I refused to be susceptible to a potential heart attack. So, the songs presented during the opening ceremony, after each game while the sport journalists commented, during intervals and the closing ceremony became my main interest.
The first of such songs was Youssou N’dour and Axelle Red’s “La cour des grands”. Prior to the tournament, I had heard his popular duet, “7 Seconds” with Neneh Cherry, a few years earlier. N’dour possessed a unique voice which was easy to detect, later when he harmonized with Wyclef Jean in “Diallo”.
This distinctiveness magnetized and kept me glued to the screen. But, that song was not the singular musical highlight that event. Ricky Martin’s “The Cup of Life” dripped with Latin contagiousness and sensuality. It was simply electric!
I would argue that prior to 1998, World Cup soundtracks were neither glamorized, nor a subject of great anticipation. However, following Ricky Martin’s delivery, these songs have come to represent an essential aspect of the quadrennial event. They have come to signal the memories that we associate with it, and oftentimes, we can readily recollect where we were and what we were doing, during the period.
In this post, I share with you some of the recognisable World Cup soundtracks from its advent in 1962, till date. (* signifies my favourites)
Anastacia (T-online)
Shakira (Stern)
K’ Naan (Universal Music)
Vangelis (Pitchfork)
Chile 1962 - Los Ramblers "El Rock del Mundial".
England 1966 - Lonnie Donegan "World Cup Willie".
Mexico 1970 - Los Hermanos Zavala "Futbol Mexico 70".
Germany 1974 - The German Team "Fußball ist unser Leben".
Argentina 1978 - Ennio Morricone "El Mundial".
Spain 1982 - Placido Domingo "El Mundial".
Mexico 1986 - Stephanie Lawrence "A Special kind of Hero".
Italy 1990 - Gianna Nannini & Edoardo Bennato "Un' estate Italiana" / *Luciano Pavarotti "Nessun Dorma".
USA 1994 - Daryl Hall & Sounds of Blackness "Gloryland"/ Queen "We are the Champions".
France 1998 - *Ricky Martins "The Cup of Life", "La Copa De La Vida" (Spanish version)/ Youssou N’dour & Axelle Red "La cour des grands".
Korea/Japan 2002 - *Vangelis "Anthem" (Original Version) "Anthem" (Techno version), / Anastacia "Boom".
Germany 2006 - Herbert Grönemeyer, feat Amadou & Mariam "Zeit dass sich was dreht" / Il Divo, feat Toni Braxton "The Time of our Lives".
South Africa 2010 - *Shakira "Waka Waka"/ R. Kelly "Sign of Victory"/ *K’Naan "Waving Flag".
Brazil 2014 - Shakira, feat Carlinhos Brown "La La La"/ *Pitbull, J.Lo & Claudia Leitte "We are One".
Russia 2018 - Magic System "Magic in the Air"/ Nicky Jam, feat Will Smith & Era Istrefi "Live it Up"/ Vegedream "Ramenez la coupe a la maison" .
Qatar 2022 - Jungkook, feat Fahad Al Kubaisi "Dreamers"/Trinidad Cardona, Davido & Aisha "Hayya Hayya (Better Together)"/ Balqees, Manal, Nora Fatehi, Rahma Riad & Red One "Light the Sky".
